A Brave New World
by rogue-scholar07
Summary: Edited version of an old fic, Mutants in Magix. Magic, thought to be dead on Earth, is found to be coursing trough the veins of specially gifted people called 'mutants'. Prologue inside. Rating for later much later chapter content and language.
1. prologue: A Shot in the Dark

**Author's note: Well, as you may have noticed, I deleted the old version of this story, Mutants in Magix. Why? Well, it didn't fit in with traditional Winx cannon, and had a few contradictions in important information. Trust me, it was easier just to scrap the whole thing and start anew. Plus, this way, you all get a wonderful little prologue to enjoy!**

**Summary: Magic, thought to be dead on Earth, is found to be coursing through the veins of specially-gifted people known as 'mutants'. These unsuspecting mutant teens soon find themselves whisked away to the realm of Magix, where they learn brand new ways of controlling their abilities.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Winx Club or X-Men Evolution, which belong to Rainbow/Nickelodian an Marvel respectively. I will claim ownage to my OC Sapphire Cole, though she's only briefly mentioned in this chapter. Blythe is Chibi Horsewoman's creation and is used with her permission.**

**A Brave New World**

**Prologue: A Shot in the Dark**

Earth: A realm that once possessed great magical power and affluence, but mysteriously lost its magic all together nearly two decades ago. No magical creatures existed on this planet anymore. At least, that's what everyone thought.

One year and four months ago, a girl named Bloom Peters arrived from that supposedly non-magical realm and started her training as a fairy at Alfea College. Although later revealed to be the missing Princess of Domino, the red headed Dragon Fire Fairy attracted the interest of the headmasters of all three Magix schools.

Four months ago, at the start of the fall semester, two more girls from Earth moved into the area, settling at Cloud Tower this time. Both girls were, in reality, the children of women exiled for their illicit affairs with prominent kings of the era. Nonetheless, Sapphire Cole and Blythe DiLune made the headmasters organize and dispatch a team to study Earth's magical tolerance.

What they found shocked the magical universe.

Though the known active fairies of the time were suddenly sealed away, descendants of several old terrestrial bloodlines hadn't lost their inner magic at all. Rather, the gene involved in allowing them to be active magic users mutated into what Earthlings now know as an 'X-gene'. This mutation granted both males and females powerful abilities stemming from their magical heritage, and by no means was it a "fairies only" phenomenon. Other magical beings started lives with seemingly human X-gene carriers, resulting in a wider range of abilities than can be found on most "Modern" realms. Some of these abilities can be used as a pathway to awaken the dormant magic within a person, be it Winx, Trix (1) or other.

Thus, before the start of the Spring semester, it was decided that all three schools (Alfea, Red Fountain, and Cloud Tower) seek out new recruits from the realm of Earth. Naturally, they started where the concentration of these mutants was greatest: Bayville, New York.

**1) In my writing, I utilize a system of naming witch power levels first presented on the 4Kids forum many years ago. Trix is the most basic form, with Runix equal to what was originally called Charmix and Sorcerix being the earned equivalent of Enchantix. **


	2. 1 Crazy Town

**Author's Note:**** You asked for it, and now it's here! The next chapter in A Brave New World is finally uploaded for your viewing pleasure. However, no one will actually be heading off to Magix until chapter two, so you have been forewarned! **

**Also, for the sake of avoiding confusion, the ages of everyone asked to go to Magix will be listed below. **

**Logan—at least 140, possibly older**

**Raven—she's not telling, but is at least 80**

**Ororo-31**

**/Belladonna—22**

**Scott/Jean/Lance—19**

**Anna Marie/Kurt/Pietro/Wanda/Amanda—18**

**Kitty/Bobby/Tabitha—17**

**Jubilee/Amara/Toad-16**

**Disclaimer:**** Absolutely no ownage here. Keep that in mind.**

**Dedications:**** To all my reviewers, and a special thanks to my NextGen story co-author Chibi Horsewoman for making me work faster to get this posted. Thanks Chibi.**

**A Brave New World**

**1. Crazy Town (1)**

"I must say, the ages of these 'mutants' are quite varied." Griffin said, looking over a stack of potential students' files. "I recommend that we test them once we get them to Magix and see just what grade level they rate at."

"A wise decision." Saladin nodded, looking up from his own stack of folders. "I think at least two of these young men could easily test at the sophomore level."

"Yes, the one of my students that isn't from this town was raised in an area that hasn't yet lost all of its magic." Griffin agreed. "It will be most beneficial to sit down with her and see just what it is she can do."

"Yes. I'll have to do that with all five of mine." Faragonda replied with a sigh. "It's fortunate that so many of them are gathered in one place. It saves us the trouble of teleporting all over the world to find them."

"It is convenient," Griffin conceded, "but it also means that there will be a lot of pre-determined bonds and rivalries to deal with. I only hope they can put it aside and work as a team. Now, where shall we hit first?"

"This 'Xavier Institute' seems to house the majority of them." Saladin pointed out. "Since all of Faragonda's students are there, it would be wise to make that our first stop."

"And while I field questions about our schools, you two can go off and speak to the other potential students." The white-haired fairy smiled. The purple-haired witch next to her shrugged her shoulders indifferently.

"So long as I get to speak to everyone, I don't much care."

"Then the Institute it is." Faragonda stated. "I only hope that this Xavier fellow will allow us to take a few of his students."

* * *

XAVIER INSTITUTE

Professor Charles Xavier felt pleasantly surprised to hear that some of his students qualified for an inter-realm school. Since the incident with Kurt's teleportation a year or so back, he'd become interested in just how many alternate dimensions or other worlds existed, and now he had a chance to learn. With his telepathy, he'd done a precautionary scan of the three headmasters' minds, which came back perfectly clean. Still, he didn't like the idea of sending so many students off to another world without a chaperone. Normally he wouldn't even think of sending an instructor along, but with half the student body gone and two new instructors due to start next week he was more than willing to make an exception. "May I request that you take two of my instructors along with the children?" He asked.

Faragonda looked at him happily, a warm smile on her face. "Of course! We're always in search of new instructors. In fact, the former Flight instructor has been forced to take the semester off, so I would gladly accept one of your teachers."

Griffin tried to resist the urge to snort and laugh, while Saladin spoke up. "Red Fountain does seem to always be in need of new instructors. Too many students and not enough qualified adults to teach, you know. If you have someone, preferably one with fighting expertise, don't hesitate to send them."

Xavier nodded. This was working out well to his advantage. "Very well. Storm and Logan shall accompany the students to your schools." A tiny frown flashed across his face. "Are you sure you want Rogue at a different school than the other girls?" He asked Griffin. She locked eyes with him.

"Yes, I am positive. Let us just say her magic is more a matter of genetics than choice. Besides, it's not as if she's the only one from this town attending Cloud Tower."

Xavier smiled, picking up on the woman's purposely unguarded thoughts. Yes. Those three would make a good team, once they were more acquainted with each other. "Very well. I see no issue in you informing the students. Do you wish for me to call them all at once or separately?"

"Separately would be nice." Faragonda smiled. "That way Miss Rogue won't feel so singled-out."

Xavier smiled in response. Yes, this would prove a very prosperous arrangement.

* * *

Once she'd spoken to Anna-Marie "Rogue" Darkholme, Griffin left the Xavier Institute and moved on to another house in Bayville, this one belonging to the Sefton family.

Long ago, she met a young witch named Margali Szardos on this realm. Though now grown up and married, Margali's interactions with the staff of Cloud Tower school of Witchcraft were far from over. Especially not now, since Margali's daughter Amanda now exhibited active magic.

"I wish I didn't have to send her so far away." Margali stated, glancing over at Griffin as she continued to fold laundry. "And what will I tell my husband? He doesn't even know I'm a witch!"

"Tell him that she has been accepted to a prestigious boarding school with a partial scholarship." Griffin stated. "You still know how to open an inter-realm portal, right?"

"Of course." The younger witch stated.

"Then send Amanda through it as soon as she's finished packing. I should be back in Magix by tonight. Classes don't start until tomorrow, however, so no need to worry about timing."

Margali nodded, sighing. "I can't believe time has passed by so fast."

"You'd better start." The golden-eyed woman replied.

* * *

BROTHERHOOD BOARDING HOUSE

Now, Saladin was quite unaware of this, but Griffin had already spoken to the woman in charge of the Brotherhood, a Miss Raven Darkholme. Although she'd never met the woman personally, she came recommended by an elderly sorceress named Agatha Harkness. Coincidentally, Harkness had also given the lone girl in the house, Miss Maximoff, what little training she had with magical energy.

Hence why Saladin felt thoroughly confused by the first words out of Raven's mouth.

"Come in. I was wondering when you would arrive." A woman with brown hair and glasses, wearing a business suit, met them at the front door.

"We had other stops to make today." Griffin stated. "By the way, how _did_ your interview with those young men go?" She asked Saladin, who sighed.

"One of them wasn't even home, but the one I spoke too seemed a little leery of the idea." The old wizard stated.

"No matter. Either he does or he doesn't, there's nothing to worry over there." The witch stated, turning once again to Raven. "Did you find something for your other charge to do while you're away?"

The brunette woman waved a hand. "He's on a flight back to his hometown. Something about visiting relatives, not that it matters. So long as he knows no-one will be here, he won't come back until the summer."

"And you've already spoken to the other children?" Saladin asked, genuinely surprised. Raven chuckled.

"I had to tell them _something_ when I sent Fred away for the spring. Although the only ones excited were Toad and Wanda."

Griffin smiled, feeling very pleased thus far. This woman definitely knew how to get things done, something she valued greatly in an instructor. "Thank you for saving me the trouble. Can I count on you to be this efficient as a class instructor?" the white-haired wizard next to her shot her a look of confusion, while Raven simply smiled.

"Of course." She said, her whole body shimmering as she changed. Her hair grew longer and turned bright red, while her glasses disappeared and her brown eyes became solid yellow. Her business suite melted and merged into a revealing black leather outfit, while her skin turned royal blue. "Besides, who better to teach a class on metamorphosis than a shapeshifter?"

A slightly evil grin appeared on Griffin's face, while Saladin simply sat there, jaw hanging agape. A shapeshifter? Here? True shapeshifters (those who weren't leprechauns) were virtually extinct in other realms, Magix included. How had Griffin managed to locate one here on Earth, of all places?

"Saladin and I will arrive late tonight to help transport everyone to Magix." Griffin spoke up, seeing as Saladin was still lost in his thoughts. "I trust that will work into your schedule?"

"Why wouldn't it?" The blue woman shrugged. "It's not as if anyone in this house goes to sleep before midnight."

**1. Song by Jason Aldeen. Good stuff.**


	3. 2 A Whole New World

**A/N:**** At long last, I have updated this story. Yeah, you can gripe at me all you want to. I don't care. Just sit back and watch as our darling mutants get settled in for their first night in Magix.**

**Disclaimer:**** If anyone asks, I was attacked by a renegade stirrup. Why? Because it sounds a lot better than "fell without style from saddle".**

**Brave New World**

**2. A Whole New World**

It was late in the evening when the groups began to file into their new schools. The first to gather were the Alfea girls. Hardly a soul passed them on their way to the dorms, since winter break was still going strong. However, these girls needed to be there early. They had a magical aptitude test the next day. Their instructor/chaperone was being shown to her room by Madam DuFor, leaving the headmistress alone with the five students.

"Man, I am totally psyched about this!" Tabitha pumped her fist in the air as Faragonda led the five girls through the halls. "We'll ace this test for sure!"

"Uh, Tabby, what if we don't?" Jubilee asked, sounding a bit worried. "We never studied magic before…"

"Lighten up, Jubes, it can't be that bad!" The blonde waved as she sashayed down the halls.

"Jean will probably pass it with no problem." Amara smiled, looking to the eldest of the girls with hopeful eyes.

The red-head blushed. "I don't know about that. I really don't think this is the kind of test you "pass" or "fail". It's an aptitude test."

"Quite correct." Faragonda interrupted. "For tonight, you girls can all stay in the same suite, but once you are placed in your respective grades, you will be shuffled around to be with others in your age group."

"Lucky us." Amara grumbled. She'd had a hard enough time adjusting to life in Bayville; heck, the modern world in general was hard to deal with coming from a place like Nova Roma. Her home country/kingdom hadn't even used electricity before the X-Men found her and brought her to the Institute. She'd hated the feeling of being so far behind, and Alfea was bound to be worse than Bayville had been!

"Oh, cheer up, Amara." Kitty smiled, patting the younger mutant on the shoulder. "We're all in this together, remember?"

Amara nodded, but said nothing further.

"Well, here we are, girls!" Miss Faragonda said cheerily, coming to a stop in front of a door. "Your temporary room. I hope it will suit you…"

"Don't worry, Miss F!" Tabby beamed in her typical carefree fashion. "We'll be just fine!"

Not much later, Saladin had a new set of problems to deal with. In his haste to get all of the boys to the school, he'd forgotten to research the teams they were a part of. Apparently said teams hated each other. But, as he already had the room assignments written up, they would just have to learn to deal with each other.

"This officially sucks." Bobby "Iceman" Drake grumbled, glaring daggers at his new silver-haired roommate.

"You're telling me! I have to room with an X-dork!" Pietro "Quicksilver" Maximoff exclaimed at a speed too fast for poor Bobby to understand.

"I don't see how anyone could have a worse roommate." The blizzard-maker complained, causing the fleet-footed mutant across the room to snicker.

"Easy. You could be stuck with Toad."

*~*Next Door*~*

"I can't believe I got stuck with you!" Kurt "Nightcrawler" Wagner growled. The normally cheerful elf was anything but when he discovered who he would be staying with for the night.

Across the room, Todd "The Toad" Tolansky returned the furry mutant's sentiments with a glare of his own. "Yo, I ain't 'xactly thrilled either. Bet you leave fuzz all in the sink."

"As if you'd notice."

"Hey, I wash my hands, foo'."

"Must be the *only* part you wash."

*~*across the hall*~*

"How did I get stuck with you two?" Lance "the Avalanche" Alvers groaned, running a hand through his brown mullet in agitation. Of all the people to have to share an airspace with…it had to be the Boy-Scout and the Card-Shark.

Why did life hate him?

"Stay on your side of the line!"

"_Non_! Remy go where he please!"

"I said, stay back there!"

"You not de boss of Remy!"

"Aagh!" Lance slammed a pillow over his head, trying to drown out the noise from Scott "Cyclops" Summers' and Remy "Gambit" LeBeau's argument. Alas, it didn't work, and he was left listening to their shouting until they finally wore themselves out enough to sleep.

Griffin, it seemed, had the easiest job initially. Rogue and Amanda both arrived in a timely manner, and were placed in a room together. The pair chatted amiably, curious as to who would be occupying the third bed in their temporary dormitory. The answer came sometime around midnight, when someone knocked on their door.

"It's open!" Rogue called out, not looking up from the book she was engrossed in. Both she and Amanda were already in their nightclothes.

"Ah, good, I caught you before you went to sleep." The headmistress greeted, opening the door wide enough so that she and two other women were seen from the room. "I thought I would introduce you to your suitemate…at least, for the moment."

"We've already met." Wanda rolled her eyes, annoyed about being dragged out of the house at such a late hour, much less having to share a room with an X-Man! And just who was the strange black girl in the room?

"Hello, Wanda." Rogue said stiffly. She supposed the gothic Brotherhood girl was okay…but the scarlet-clothed teen was notorious for having a short temper, and Rogue wanted nothing to do with arousing her anger. "Amanda, Meet Wanda. Wanda, this is Kurt's girlfriend Amanda."

"The human?" Wanda raised an eyebrow. She'd heard that the furry X-geek was seeing a human girl, but she'd never had the chance to investigate if it was true or not. Apparently it was.

"Apparently not as human as I thought." Amanda sighed. "I can't believe my mother hid this from me!"

"Maybe she felt you wouldn't understand." A new voice offered as Wanda rolled her eyes and stepped into the room. From her angle, Amanda could only make out a shoulder, and with the natural shadows playing off the woman's skin, she couldn't be sure what she looked like. Rogue, however, had a meltdown.

"Mystique!" She hissed, glaring daggers at the shapeshifter. "What are you doing here?"

"Why, Rogue, I thought you would be thrilled to see your mother." Wanda said sarcastically. The Southern Belle glared back at the other girl in distain.

"Well, you guessed wrong!" She shouted.

"Miss Darkholme, settle down this instant!" the headmistress ordered in a booming voice. Rogue quieted down, but never ceased glaring at her adoptive parent. "Now, Raven has agreed to teach Transformations this semester, which works out very well for the school since the last teacher ran away screaming." The purple-haired witch said. "No matter what your personal feelings toward her, I expect all three of you to be respectful in the classroom next week, is that understood?"

A resigned "Yes, Ma'am" sounded from Rogue, while Wanda muttered a "whatever" and Amanda nodded an emphatic "Yes, Miss Griffin".

"Good." The hawk-nosed witched stated. "Now, you three get to know each other. I will be by to fetch you in the morning."

And with that, she and Mystique were gone.

"Rogue, can't you at least be _civil _for five minutes?" Amanda chided the older girl. Contrary to what most of the X-Men believed, she knew about the history between the two. Kurt pretty much spilled the beans and his guts when he came crying to her the night his sister "killed" their mother. "I understand you're angry, but God!"

"You don't understand the half of it!" The skunk-haired girl growled.

"I understand enough to know that you're acting like a little kid." The brunette shot back. "Guess what, honey? We're not kids! We're living on our own in a strange dimension with other girls we most likely can't stand and we need to all grow up!"

"Spunky." Wanda said, studying the taller girl. "I like it. So, what do you think of the room?" Like most of the school, it was dreary and gothic in appearance, but that didn't mean it wasn't without color. Since the three had come in, splashes of green, orange, indigo, and scarlet penetrated the dark purple décor.

"It's already changing to fit us." Amanda said. "According to Miss Griffin, each room is spelled to reflect the personality and interest of its inhabitants. The same spell is in effect at the fairy school across the lake."

"Cool." Wanda said. She hadn't heard the whole lecture yet, and quite frankly didn't care. So long as her room had lots of red and black, she was happy.


	4. 3 Learn to Fly

**A/N:**** Ok, so my fellow WWA members (and some reviewers) were wondering why I didn't make Tabitha a witch. Sorry guys, but I see her more as a fairy than a witch. It's also a vital part of the story later on…you'll figure out why as it goes along. Also, each school will be dealt with in separate chapters. This one happens to be about Alfea. **

**Disclaimer:**** Violets are Blue. Roses are Red. All some people need is a kick in the head. **

**A Brave New World**

**3. Learn to Fly**

Dawn colored the sky with shades of orange and pink as the newest members of Alfea College for Fairies awoke the next morning. The first one awake was Tabby, who in turn woke up her sleeping roommate Amara with a loud declaration of joy.

"Man, would you look at that sunrise!"

"Go back to bed." The brunette princess grumbled, shoving a pillow on top of her head to block out her friend's voice.

It would take more than a pillow to stop Tabitha, though. "How can you still be sleeping? Do you even know what today is? Man, I am so psyched about this exam thing! This is gonna be awesome! We're gonna get to fly, Amara. Fly! Ow! Hey!" She protested as Amara's pillow hit her in the face.

"Shut up already, and let me catch up on my beauty sleep." The shorter girl mumbled.

"Fine." Tabby huffed. "I'll go see if any of the others are awake."

"Before seven? Not likely." Amara grumbled as the blonde girl left the room.

*~*One Hour Later*~*

"I don't think I've ever been this nervous before." Jubilee commented, watching in awe as Jean was called forward to take her turn in the Magical Reality Chamber. From the explanation that the Professor Palladium gave, the Chamber worked a fair bit like the Danger Room did back at the mansion, only it had the power to actually *enhance* the natural magic present in a fairy (or whatever else decided to enter the chamber). As of today, the five girls from Earth were going to learn just what their fairy forms looked like.

"Jubes, it's not even your turn." Tabitha pointed out.

"Yeah, but still…"

"Stop worrying, Jubilee. It's not a good emotion on you." The blonde stated, earning a nod from Kitty.

"Yeah, let's save all the worry and gloom until we're actually in the chamber." The petite brunette said as the chamber powered up.

* * *

Inside the chamber, an array of various 'monsters' appeared, and started attacking Jean. At first, the red-head used her telekinesis to simply fling the would-be attackers away, but as the chamber started to summon newer, harder to lift monsters, she began to panic. She didn't have what it took to face all of them! Not without a serious power boost.

It was then that one of the larger monsters got entirely too close. She'd let her concentration lapse, and now she could feel his breath on her front. Bad breath at that. He had to go. Now.

"Get away from me!" She shouted, a bright glow enveloping her body so that no one could see just what was going on. When it faded, the monster had been thrown back several feet, and Jean Grey got a change of wardrobe. Her new dress was a shimmery bright green spaghetti-strap number that fell to her knees. A diamond cut-out revealed a good bit of her torso and her naval, and was trimmed in gold. The straps of the dress were also gold, to match the strappy high-heeled shoes on her feet. And last, but certainly not least, a pair of green and gold wings sprouted from her back.

"I said go away!" She growled angrily at the monsters, using a sweeping psychic blast to knock most of them unconscious, and send those still awake flying backward.

"Very well done, Miss Grey!" She heard Professor Palladium's pleased voice over the speakers as she simulation faded. "That's the spirit! Now, on to the next one. Which one of you is Katherine?"

"Me, and it's Kitty, please." Kitty stood up as Jean powered down. "Only my parents call me Katherine."

"Very well, Kitty." The elf smiled warmly. "Please, step into the chamber."

Kitty obeyed, and felt a wave of apprehension as the door closed behind her. Would her simulation go as smoothly as Jean's? Or would it be harder?

It was certainly different. Rather than monsters, she got robots. Did it have to be so many robots? And did they have to look like Sentinels?

No matter. They were going down.

Taking a deep breath, Kitty went into phase and dove straight through three of the metal monstrosities, short circuiting their programs and shutting them down. Would have been a moment of victory if there weren't ten more of the darn things. And they weren't shooting.

Duck. Phase. Dodge. Repeat. She kept that routine up as long as she could, but was eventually forced back into a corner. Seeing no other options, she readied herself for yet another phase through. And hoped she didn't run out of air.

As she made her second dive for the group, she willed herself not to think about what all could go wrong. Right now, surviving was the only thing that mattered. She knew how to do this. She just needed to actually do it!

Somewhere during mid-phase, she felt a peculiarly warm sensation wash over her. She didn't dwell long on it, though, as she was still half way through a robot with several more to go. Once clearly on the other side, however, she noticed that she had gone through a total transformation.

Her hair, formerly up in a high ponytail, was now held back with a single clip of some kind (she couldn't see what, though) and flowed down her back freely. Gone were the workout sweats from just a few moments earlier. Those were replaced by a blue and pink shimmery halter top with a pink petal skirt and blue ballet shoes. Feathered pink and blue wings sat lightly on her back.

Hm. Wings. Oh the fun to be had with these babies! Without warning, Kitty jumped into the air and flew high above the robots, easily dodging the lasers and such they shot up at her. "Like, I think it worked like this." She said, focusing her energy into the palms of her hands and aiming them at the crowd of metallic minions. Unlike Jean's earlier attack, there was no massive force shoving them backward. No, this magic forced them to become intangible and sink into the floor. But only as far as their knees. Now immobile, the mechanized attackers could do nothing to avoid Kitty as she flew right down the middle of the whole group, disabling all of them.

"Wow, she's really good." Jubilee sat on the bench, mouth hanging wide open as her teammate made fast work of the reality chamber.

"You'll do fine too, Jubilee." Jean smiled at the younger girl. "It's not really as hard as it looks."

"If you say so." The Asian-American grumbled as Palladium called the next student.

"Princess Amara Aquilla. Huh. I didn't know Earth had any monarchies left."

"They do, thank you very much." Amara replied, trying to gather enough confidence to stop her hands from shaking as she walked into the chamber.

"Ah, I see." The Elvin professor replied with a smile she could hear in his voice. "Begin!"

For Amara's run, a volcanic world was generated, and several red-orange creatures with hair seemingly made of fire began to surround her.

"Oh, no you don't!" She ordered, going into her fiery form and blasting the creatures repeatedly with balls of fire. Fire didn't seem to be doing her much good, though. The creatures fed off of it and began to grow bigger.

* * *

Up in the control room, Ofelia—the school nurse—shot Palladium a concerned glare. "Are you sure this is safe? What if she can't hold them back?"

"Oh, she can." The cinnamon-headed man said. "Trust me, Ofelia, she's capable of so much more than she's aware of."

* * *

Back on the ground, Amara was fast running out of options. After accidentally knocking one of the little fire-beasts into a pit full of molten lava, she realized that while they thrived on heat they didn't do so well in a bath of liquid burning rock. She'd tapped into the power to control a volcano once before, but that had been more or less an accident. To do so here, she'd have to dive through the hoard and jump into the lava pit in Magma form to make it work. Not her first option, but since her hand-to-hand proficiency was pretty much non-existent, she decided to just go for it. A mad dash and a swan dive later, she was swimming in magma.

The "voice" of this particular mountain spoke quite strongly to her. It wasn't keen on letting her throw its innards around however she pleased, but in the end it was left with little choice but to obey her. She rode the crest of a massive wave of the molten rock back to the surface, and jumped up so it could fall down on the heads of the fire beasts. Then she would land and solidify them in a rocky cage. At least, that was the plan until she realized she was hanging in mid-air. Hot pink and orange X-shaped wings kept her from falling to the ground again.

Wait a minute. Wings? She pushed her hair back out of the way and…yep. Those were wings all right. She looked down and noticed that her whole outfit had changed. No longer in Magma form or in her civilian clothes, Amara now donned an orange cropped halter top with a diamond cut-out over her chest and pink beaded accents. A matching orange miniskirt with pink beaded fringe hugged her hips, and a pair of orange closed-toed stilettos graced her feet. ~It's like what those Latin dancers wear on TV.~ She thought to herself, deciding to give her new wings even more of a workout and fly back down to the pit of half-cooled lava. The creatures were writhing in discomfort. Hmm. She'd have to stop this whole writhing business. As soon as her feet touched the magma, it cooled into a rocky substance, trapping the beasts inside of it.

"Another job well done." Palladium's voice sounded cheerfully over the intercom. "You got all worked up over nothing at all, Amara. You're a natural at this! Now, a Miss…Jubilation Lee?" and here he thought fairy names were weird!

"Just Jubilee, Mr. Palladium." Jubilee said nervously as she passed by Amara. In the background, an excited Tabitha whooped "You go girl!" at the top of her lungs. Off to the side, the raven-tressed girl noticed that stern looking woman—the one with the glasses—shaking her head and muttering something about someone named Stella. ~I'm not sure what it is, but I'm sure it's not good!~ She thought, continuing on her way into the chamber.

"Are you ready, Jubilee?" The man asked. She nodded an affirmative, not trusting her own voice right at the moment. Scared as she was, she'd probably come off a bit like Minnie Mouse. "Very well. Initiate simulation."

Apparently Mr. Palladium liked to play with the settings on his chamber, because so far no two girls had gone through the same simulation. For Jubilee, it was fighting a bunch of shadow monsters in a dark cave. She tried lobbing small blasts at them, but they weren't doing nearly enough damage or shedding near enough light on her opponents to be any good to her. Plus, the darn things seemed to come out of everywhere! She needed to lighten the mood in here. Badly.

"Here goes nothing." She said, closing her eyes and readying herself for a massive attack. "Let there be light!" Both hands shot up in the air as multi-colored bolts of plasma began to rain down on the cave, keeping the creatures away from her. "Okay, that worked. And now for something completely different!" One hand went forward, trying to focus the exploding plasma into a stream-like attack. Instead of several little bolts, she got one big blast that barreled through the ghoul in her way like a Roman candle. "Wow. That's new." She said, turning to her right and nailing yet another shadow-fiend. "I guess all those training sessions paid off." She admitted as another ghoul disintegrate into nothingness. Then another. And another. Until they were all gone and Palladium finally decided to end the simulation.

"Nice outfit, Jubilee!" Kitty called out, causing the shorter girl to stare in confusion.

"Huh?"

"Look down, girl! You got an upgrade!" Tabby shouted. Jubilee did, and then stepped back in shock.

The first thing she noticed was that her hair was no longer lying against the back of her neck or hanging over her shoulders. Instead, she discovered, it was pulled back into a sweeping up do with a multi-colored clip (she could see the reflection on the metal walls of the chamber). Then there was the actual wardrobe. Her yellow jacket and white shirt were gone, replaced by a yellow triangle top with a bright pink wedge down the center and a pink ribbon holding it up for modesty's sake. Her jeans and sneakers were gone as well, and a yellow miniskirt and hot pink boots took their places. A pair of iridescent pale blue yellow and pink butterfly-like wings graced her back. "Oh wow."

"Yeah, exactly." Tabby said, jumping up from her seat. "My turn!"

Palladium had to shake his head at the blonde Earthling's enthusiasm. "Now that's the kind of attitude I like to see!"

"You're the only one that likes it." Griselda muttered as she walked into the control booth.

"Tell me about it!" Tabitha shouted back, looking completely cool with being stuck inside the magical reality chamber. "We gonna get going or not, Professor P.?"

"Of course, Tabitha." He smiled, looking over his array of levers and buttons. Yes, he had the perfect simulation for her! "Activating chamber…now!"

Tabby got the shock of her life down on the ground. Rather than far away worlds or robot factories, she got an amusement park. A frikkin' amusement park. Which made her wonder two things. 1. Did the Ferris wheel actually work? And 2. What would she be fighting.

"Hehehehehe!"

"Oh you have **got** to be kidding me!" She groaned. Clowns. It had to be clowns! "This is all kinds of wrong!" she shouted, tossing a few not-so-well aimed time bombs in the general direction of the advancing clowns as she took off for some kind of shelter. Unfortunately, there was none to be found. The game booths and tents were all occupied by, you guessed it, more clowns.

"Dammit!" She swore, glaring venomously at the wacky characters coming up on her with rubber chickens that happened to explode whenever they hit something. "This is just f'n great!" she growled. Nowhere to run to. No place to hide in. She'd just have to blow up the annoying Chuckles brigade. "You circus rejects wanna play catch?" She called out, forming a softball-sized bomb in her hands. "Here's a real fastball for ya!" With as mighty a throw as she could manage, she hurled it at a clown coming in her direction. Said clown exploded along with the sphere whenever it made impact, sending bits of gray goop everywhere, but strangely no blood. "Who else wants a piece of this!" She cackled madly, jumping on a nearby table. Several of the clown crowd grinned maniacally. "As you wish!" Several tennis-ball-sized bombs flew through the air as she spun in circles, cackling madly at the destruction she was causing. Trash cans, tents, prize booths—pretty much anything that was standing in her vicinity was now on the ground. Only a handful remained to deal with. But right now she was flying high on the ecstasy of causing destruction, and thoroughly enjoying the tingling sensation now spreading over her body. A quick glance down told her that she too had gotten a transformation—but not the same as the other girls.

No, her outfit was forged in hues of black, dark teal/green, and fuchsia that would cause many young fairies to think she might be a witch. A dark teal high-neck sleeveless top extended down her front to just about her navel, and travelled every bit as far down in the back. The only thing holding the front and back pieces of teal leather together were six strips of black glittery fabric, three for each side. Low rise leather pants, the same teal-green hue as the top, extended gracefully down into a pair of thigh-high shimmery black boots, and a black glittery belt adorned her hips. Up her arms, fuchsia fingerless knit gloves extended a few inches above her elbows, with black metallic gauntlets keeping them from sliding down any farther. A pair of teal and fuchsia dragonfly wings extended from her back, although she saw no use in them. She was having quite a lot of fun without them!

"Here, you Bozo wanna-bes!" She grinned, throwing large orbs of exploding orange energy at the synthetic clowns. Each one took out its intended target, but that wasn't enough for her. Not when she was on such a roll! Many smaller orbs rolled carelessly off her fingertips as she spun around, strong wings beginning to propel her upward ever so slightly. All until finally, the magical illusion was gone, and she was hovering several feet of the ground in a metal room, time bombs still falling off her hands.

"Oh my goodness!" Ofelia gasped. Even the transfers from Cloud Tower usually weren't this crazy!

"She certainly is a wild one." Palladium sighed, then perked up. "But, she is a fairy! Those wings prove it!"

"Dragon help us." Griselda sighed as Tabitha strutted out of the room like a supermodel going down a runway. "We'll need it to deal with that one!"


	5. 4 Defying Gravity

**Disclaimer:**** Here in Texas, an inch of snow is equal to a foot of snow up in NY. Which is why half an inch of the white stuff can shut down the city of Houston.**

**A Brave New World**

**4. Defying Gravity**

While the X-girls of Alfea awaited their turn at the Magical Reality Chamber, Griffin rounded up her three newest students for their magical aptitude test.

"Any idea what we'll be doing?" Amanda asked her two new schoolmates.

"Probably meditations with power-boosting crystals." Wanda shrugged. "Agatha used to do that with me."

"Why?" Rogue scoffed.

"To get you girls to focus your energy to its fullest extent." The headmistress replied as the four entered a dimly lit room. On the floor, a circle of white candles surrounded three crystals. "Now, Miss Darkholme, since you are so _eager_ to get started, please step into the circle."

Not expecting to be put on the spot, Rogue blinked for a few seconds while Wanda cackled with glee. Not wanting to give the raven-haired mutant any more satisfaction, Rogue finally stepped carefully into the circle.

"Assume a meditational pose and channel your energy into the crystals." Griffin ordered. The Mississippian mutant obeyed, squatting down Indian-style and closing her eyes. "Focus on the energy inside you. Feel it pulsing through your being." Griffin walked around the outside of the candles as the girl's focus intensified. "Grasp it. Make it pour into the crystals." The crystals began to tremble as a faint green aura surrounded Rogue. "Don't be afraid of it, Anna. Embrace the darkness." Slowly, the crystals stood straight up. "That's it! Use your full power!"

Anna's head tilted back and a groan escaped her lips as the glowing energy intensified, blocking her completely from view for several seconds before finally fading away. When the energy dissipated, the crystals hovered at her eye level and her wardrobe got an overhaul.

Her purple top and dark jeans now gone, the energy-stealing mutant now wore a dark green, long-sleeved, square-necked mini-dress with the shoulders cut away. A set of four silver buckles adorned each sleeve, and her trademark black gloves remained on her hands. Black tights covered her legs while silver platform boots reached up to her thighs, black buckles running down the shoes' outside edge.

"Oh wow." Amanda breathed.

"You said it." Wanda nodded. "Agatha _never _got to this level with my training. She just made me float the crystals."

"Very well done, Anna." Griffin praised. "You may now release the energy."

With a violent pop, the green energy that glowed so brightly around Rogue disappeared and the crystals hit the floor with a loud clatter. "That." She panted. "Was intense."

"And amazing." Amanda breathed. "I wish I had that kind of power."

"Oh, you do, and I intend to prove it!" Griffin stated as Rogue slowly got to her feet and left the circle. "Come, Amanda. Take your place." The mocha skinned girl did so, copying Rogue's pose. "Find the source of your energy. Unleash it!" Immediately the crystals shot up on end and floated uncertainly a n inch off the ground. "Pour your energy into it, child. Don't hold back!"

Pale multi-colored energy swirled around the girl as Wanda watched with interest from the sidelines. ~Apparently fuzz-butt's girl has more firepower than we thought.~ She mused.

As the swirling energy faded away, Amanda's black and orange clothing was replaced by a sleeveless pale blue leather crop-top with matching low-rise pants, knee-high boots, and ¾ length fingerless gloves.

"I guess she wasn't kidding." Rogue said, looking over her brother's girlfriend with amusement. "Blue is her favorite color."

Wanda shook her head, a small smile tugging at her lips. It certainly did explain her fascination with Nightcrawler.

Unlike Anna, Amanda was determined to set the crystals down in a semi-graceful manner. As her energy levels lowered, so did the crystals. They still made a noisy clinking when they hit the floor, but the landing wasn't as violent.

"Very nicely done." Griffin smiled, then turned to Wanda. "Well? Aren't you going to dazzle us with your advanced knowledge?"

That earned a frown. "I don't dazzle. I demolish." Wanda replied, striding confidently into the circle, candle flames roaring like wildfires upon her entry. Almost as soon as she sat down, the crystals rose upward as blue crackling energy covered her hands. But as her focus intensified, the blue energy changed to red, and the candle flames turned an eerie green.

"What's going on?" Amanda asked fearfully.

"Her mutant powers and her magic are finally synchronizing." Griffin grinned wickedly. "Agatha was right; the girl **is** powerful!"

An aurora-esque light show shone from the crystals as the crackling energy dissipated into a faintly glowing aura. By far, Wanda's transformation was the farthest departure from her everyday clothing…and that was due to the fact that she was wearing a skirt. A mini-skirt, to be precise. It's dark red leather fell from her hips to about mid-calf before giving way to black fishnet stockings and a pair of dark red knee-boots. Long dark-red gloves swept up her arms and a long cape of the same color fell gracefully from the high collar of the dark red sleeveless crop-top she was wearing.

"Huh." Rogue tilted her head to the side. "That wasn't what I was expecting."

"I know." Amanda nodded. "It's more...forgive the language, but I think the word is 'badass'."

"Yep." The green-eyed girl nodded. "More fashionable too."

Wanda, however, never paid the two any mind as she floated off the ground. She was too far into what was commonly termed a "magic overdose" to care. Her power had _never_ invigorated her like this before! She could really feel the magical energy as it surged through her veins, and she never wanted it to end!

Headmistress Griffin had other ideas. A quick chant in an ancient tongue and Wanda's power left in a violent shockwave, blowing out candles and sending the crystals into the wall. The Scarlet Witch hit the floor with a thud, sprawling unconscious on the ground.

"Wanda!" Amanda shrieked. "Oh my GOD, Wanda! Is she okay?"

"She will be." Griffin answered calmly to the terrified girl's question as she levitated the unconscious witch toward her. "She needs rest to replenish her energy, but she will recover. Don't be alarmed, girls. She's hardly the first witch to het high on magic."

"If you say so." Rogue muttered, feeling a little creeped out by the scene that had just unfolded.

"Why don't you two go back to your rooms?" Griffin suggested. "I will take Miss Maximoff to the infirmary and bring her back to you once she's stable."

"Okay." Amanda nodded slowly as Rogue walked out the door.

Once the two girls had left, Griffin began the process of levitating Wanda down to the infirmary. "Agatha Harkness was right to worry about you, child." The violet-haired woman said. "Such great power you have welled up within you…the power to literally change the world as we know it. But by the Dragon, I hope you learn to control it before it enslaves you."


	6. 5 Stand Up and Shout

**Disclaimer****: "You've got wings of steel, but they never really move you. You only seem to crawl." (1) **

**Brave New World**

**5. Stand Up and Shout (1)**

Cordatorta tapped his foot impatiently as he waited to meet the newest instructor at Red Fountain School of Heroics. A man known only as Logan, from the planet Earth. For some reason, this 'Logan' didn't take teaching as seriously as the rest of the staff, for he was nowhere to be found and the first test of his students' skills was only moments away.

Finally, Logan walked outside and onto the lawn, cup of coffee in hand. Cordatorta had to admit, he was hardly impressed with the shorter man. Aside from being muscular and hairy, there wasn't that much remarkable about him. Or so he thought.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Cordatorta asked. Logan merely grunted.

"Early enough. Only one that's ever on time is Scooter. And with the Brotherhood boys _and_ Gumbo to contend with… we're not gonna have everyone here for at least ten minutes."

Cordatorta was flabbergasted. Such a blatant disregard for punctuality would be punished normally…and this guy was just going to let them get away with it?

He didn't have much time to dwell on that, as the boy with the wrap-around goggles trotted up to where the two men were standing, a younger man completely encased in ice following behind him. Both donned the standard Red Fountain uniform, although ice-boy had ditched the cape.

Logan's left eye began to twitch. "What the hell is that, Summers?"

"It's the uniform, Logan." Scott replied evenly, not revealing any emotion. Ice-boy didn't have any such limitations.

"It's not as bad if you get rid of the cape."

"You are not going to wear that…nightmare." Logan growled. "Until we find something else, you'll wear your usual training uniform."

"Thank God!" Bobby exclaimed.

"How dare you make that decision?" Cordatorta growled as more of the Earth boys wandered up. Along with a few of his own Red Fountain boys who had arrived back to the school early. Riven, Brandon, Sky, and Helia all walked up to the obstacle course. Most of said Earth boys either wore their former training uniforms, or no uniforms at all. The tallest (and consequently the oldest) of the group even had on a worn brown trench coat on over his, while the "Brotherhood boys" chose not to wear them…well, all except for the youngest.

"Aw man! This is whack, yo!" The frog-like boy cried out from the ground. He had somehow gotten his cape wrapped around his legs, and tripped over it.

"I told you that was a bad idea, Toad!" A taller boy with silver hair and blue eyes replied quickly. Almost too quickly to be understood. "It's a horrible fashion _faux pas_!"

"Only because _you_ got tangled in it, Pietro." A thuggish-looking boy with a brown mullet pointed out. "Of course, Summers and the other boy scouts don't see anything wrong with it…"

"I did!" A blue demon-like kid exclaimed.

"Okay, Fuzz-butt gets style points on that one." Mullet-boy stated. "Then again his good sense _might _be genetic..."

"Apparently being related to the Boss Lady makes him immune to the horrible fashion sense of the other X-geeks." Pietro mused.

"I never said I liked it!" Scott protested. "I just didn't want to get in trouble for not wearing it!"

"Well you ain't!" Logan grumbled, brown eyes glaring daggers at Cordatorta. "It's a trip hazard and I won't allow these boys to run around in them!"

"That's the way it's always been!" The instructor shouted.

"Well the times are changing." Logan growled. "The boys ditch the uniforms until we find something more suited to purpose."

"No way!" Sky put in. "It's school protocol!"

"It's stupid!" Bobby shouted.

"Look like a lady repellant, _mis amis_." A young man with red and black eyes stated, using his powers to light a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

"No smoking on the grounds!" Cordatorta bellowed. "No one under eighteen…"

"You realize he's over 21, right?" Logan asked, clearly not caring. Cordatorta was getting on his nerves, and he was eager to make him squirm, even if it meant playing along with Gumbo to do it!

"It's still against the rules." Brandon pointed out.

"Oh god, it's a group of Cyclops clones!" Pietro wailed. "Hide your children! Lock up your sodas and candy!"

"You little priss…" Riven growled.

"Hey! Nobody insults the Brotherhood but the Brotherhood and occasionally the X-Geeks!" Lance said.

"You wanna make something of it?" Riven got into the other boy's face.

"With pleasure!" With a growl, Lance went to throw a punch at the magenta-haired specialist. It didn't take long for most of the rest of the group to start fighting too. Logan and Cordatorta were screaming insults at each other, Scott and Lance, in a rare moment of solidarity, began to tag team Brandon and Riven, while Bobby encased Sky's legs in ice.

"Now dat not quite fair." Gambit tsked to Bobby, an amused expression on his face. A flick of his wrist sent a charged playing card to the blond Prince's feet. "Dis'll even de odds."

BOOM! Ice shattered around the exploding card.

"You freaks!" Sky roared, rushing headlong at the Cajun thief. Alas, the lanky swamp-rat was faster than he looked, and easily dodged Sky's attack.

"Didn' y' Mama tell y' it not nice t' call people names?" The Cajun taunted, earning an enraged growl from the Eraklyon prince. Soon, Gambit was summarily dragged into the fray as well…and easily mopping the floor with the blond boy.

"Wow, look at them go." Toad whistled, watching the fight along with Pietro, Timmy, and Helia. "Shouldn't you two be in on it?" He asked them.

"I do not condone violence." Helia stated. "It should only be used as a last resort."

"That, and I know when I'm outmatched!" Timmy put in as Kurt teleported back in with a bowl of popcorn.

"Oooh! I knew we were missing something!" Pietro said, snatching the bowl from Kurt.

"Do people always fight like this where you come from?" Helia asked. Kurt snorted.

"This is nothing! You should have seen the carnage after Bobby iced the girl's bathroom!"

"Man, I bet that was a good fight!" Todd shook his head. "Usually we don't have fights like that."

"Because between Mystique and my psychotic sister, we always get the crap beat out of us!" Pietro frowned.

…and that was the scene that met Headmaster Saladin when he walked out to check on his newest recruits. A giant drop of sweat formed on his brow as he watched both students and teachers engage in a free-for-all match. For several moments, he couldn't find the right words to say about this...brawl. But eventually his voice found its way back to his vocal cords and he shouted "WHAT'S GOING ON OUT HERE?"

Everyone froze. Well, aside from Todd, Timmy, and Kurt, who were happily munching on their popcorn. All the young men stood at attention, as did Cordatorta. Logan folded his arms across his chest and stood still, waiting to see what was about to happen.

Then, as if motivated by an imaginary cue card, everyone started trying to talk at once. That wouldn't do for Saladin. Not one bit. "QUIET!" He boomed. As soon as the boys all calmed down again, he started to use a more calm, soft voice. "Now, Cordatorta and Logan, would you mind explaining to me why you and your charges were fighting like oversized five year olds?"

"He told them not to wear their uniforms!" Cordatorta blurted out, pointing at Logan. "Half of them didn't put them on anyway, but still, he shouldn't encourage that kind of behavior!"

"I'll encourage whatever behavior I see fit." Logan returned in his usual gruff manner. "Especially considering those "uniforms" are an eyesore and a trip hazard."

"Trip hazard?" Saladin raised an eyebrow. Now that was a good point. "Would you explain how so?"

"Two of these kids run on all fours and one of the remainder can create a tornado if he runs in circles fast enough." Logan said bluntly. "The capes ain't no use to them. Besides, it's not practical unless you can fly, and even then it's like a giant parachute for most people."

"It's a statement of heroic intent." Cordatorta replied indignantly.

"It's a statement that somebody read too many comic books as a kid." Quicksilver quipped, earning a glare from the adults.

"It's a liability and I won't put these boys in danger because of it." Logan said.

"I must admit, Cordatorta, Logan has a strong argument." Saladin replied evenly. "I too have noticed how impractical the capes can be at times. This semester is all about change. Perhaps it is time for the standing rules to change as well?" He looked over the young men who had been involved in the brawl and sighed. "We will try again tomorrow morning. Same time, same place. Now, you two" He pointed at Logan and Cordatorta "please come to my office at once. I see that a staff meeting is in order."

"Yay! Free day!" Bobby fist pumped the air. "Come on, let's ditch these and go exploring!"

"I'm all for that, yo." Todd said. "This thing's too big anyway."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the staff of Red Fountain school for heroics gathered in Saladin's office for an impromptu meeting. "Now, it has been brought to my attention that the current school uniforms might present a hazard to our students' safety." Saladin addressed the assembled teachers. "How many of you are in agreement with this?"

"I certainly am." A somewhat portly man wearing a white doctor's coat, a red button-down shirt and black slacks stated. "I speak for the entire infirmary when I say that half the injuries the boys receive during the school year can be attributed to those darn capes. They get caught on nails, or a dragon steps on them, and the next thing you know, they're flat on their faces after falling down the stairs or almost getting burned alive."

"Duly noted, Doctor Asa." The white-haired wizard nodded. "Now, since I see many of you nodding contentedly along in support of this, what would you all propose for a new uniform?"

"Maybe something more military." A tall blond man mused. "That is essentially what we're training them for."

"As in what palace guards wear, or general infantry?" Someone else piped up.

"Definitely not palace guard." The first shook his head. "Too old fashioned. No, I'm thinking a more modern military look. Camouflage cargo pants, combat boots, T-shirts…"

"Maybe a leather jacket to protect against the cold?" A man with a head full of dark curls asked.

"All good suggestions." Saladin smiled. "Now, does anyone besides Professor Hauser or Professor Morrison have anything to add."

"It should be red, or at least part of it ought to be." A wiry gray-eyed man stated. "After all, this IS Red Fountain. It only makes sense."

"I vote the jacket." Professor Morrison's hand shot up.

"Yeah. The rest of it can be gray and black." Hauser nodded in agreement.

"They're all well and good ideas, but something's still missing." Saladin said. "Mr. Logan, you've been rather quiet. Do you have anything to add?"

Logan raised an eyebrow and contemplated all the places he could be right at the moment other than locked in a room with twenty other men discussing, of all things, a school uniform change. But he was the one to bring it up, so he may as well add something to the conversation. Even if it probably wouldn't be used. "Well, when _I _was in the military, our unit wore berets." He said. "But that was over fifty years ago."

Saladin smiled broadly while several jawbones hit the floor. No way this man was over seventy! It just wasn't possible. "I think that may be just what we were looking for. Wouldn't you say, gentlemen?"

"No way he's that old!" Cordatorta snorted. "He doesn't look a day over forty!"

A smirk crossed Logan's face. "Bub, I've been fighting in global wars since before you were born. That's the advantage of a healing factor…you can face a firing squad, and still survive."

Well that got everyone to quiet down. What had he been doing to warrant a trip to a firing squad? And could he really heal from it, or was it just him taunting Cordatorta?

"At any rate," Saladin spoke, attempting to regain control of the meeting, "I'll put a call in to a local tailor. The new uniforms should be ready within a week. Now, why don't you all go back to doing…whatever it was you were doing before you came here."

* * *

That evening...

"Are you sure we can do this?" Scott asked warily.

"_Ja_, I'm sure." Kurt grinned. "I overheard them saying they were ordering new ones anyway."

"You spied on a staff meeting?" Scott gasped.

"Oh, like you've never done it before." Bobby scoffed.

"You gotta remember, Ice-cube, this is Stick-up-my-ass Summers we're talking about." Lance said softly, patting the New Mutant on the shoulder. "He doesn't have the same thoughts and desires as the rest of us."

"Hey!"

"Oh, you know it's true!" Lance held his hands up. "I'm just explaining it to the boy."

"And that looks like the last of the uniforms." Timmy said. The Brotherhood boys, Scott, Bobby, Kurt, Timmy, and Helia all tossed their uniforms into a giant pile outside. On a table was a container of starter fluid and a match. "This is going to be so epic!"

"Sounds like you've been itching to do this for a while." Pietro smirked. Yeah, the red head was a hopeless geek, but he was somewhat likeable. More than Jell-O-head and the Fabio wanna-be.

"He's not the only one." Helia shook his head. "But most of them aren't here yet."

"So this will be a private bonfire, big deal!" Pietro waved a careless hand. "It's a long time coming, and who better than us to do it? Although I wonder why Gambit's not here…?"

"He disintegrated his uniform last night when he saw it." Lance smirked.

"Ah, who needs him anyway!" Kurt said. "Let's burn this to the ground!"

"Horrible spandex uniforms, thou shalt not be missed!" Pietro proclaimed, striking the match and tossing it onto the pre-soaked clothes. Soon the pile of blue and white fabric became a raging inferno.

"Now THIS is how to ring in the school year!" Toad grinned. "Why couldn't we do this with our other uniforms again?"

"Because Mystique would kill us all in our sleep for trying to set the back yard on fire." Lance pointed out. "Besides, this is more fun! Anyone bring marshmallows? Or hot dogs?"

"Why am I letting you maniacs do this?" Scott groaned.

"Because deep, deep down, you want to watch them burn to ashes as much as we do!" Pietro sped around and whispered in his ear. Scott tried to swat the boy away, but the speedster was already long gone. "Nuh uh! Can't touch this!"

Meanwhile, some of the instructors were watching all of this from a distance. "You sure it's okay to let them do this?" Professor Hauser asked. Logan nodded.

"If it gets too out of control, ice-cube can freeze it over." He shrugged. "Let them have their fun."

"Are they really dancing around it?" Doctor Asa squinted at the fire.

"Yes, I believe they are." Professor Hauser said. "And now they appear to be singing to it."

"As long as nothing else catches on fire and they don't toss their normal clothes onto it, I wouldn't worry." Logan said. "And if they do, we'll put out the fire and drag them all back inside."

**1. Lyrics and title of the song "Stand Up and Shout" by Dio.**


	7. 6 In and Out of Love

**Author's Note****: …And this would be part of the reason this story is rated "T". If you have problems with girls asking other girls out on dates, don't read any further. Nothing over-the-top…but, again, if you have issues with it, don't read. **

**A Brave New World**

**6. In and Out of Love**

Mirta walked uncertainly back onto the campus of Alfea College, not at all sure what the new semester would bring. She had hoped that this would be a year of moving on, romantically, from the rough break-up she'd had with Lucy at prom last year. Both girls defined themselves as what modern culture labeled 'bisexual', since both of them had gone through their share of movie-star crushes over the time they'd known each other. The fact that the two best friends were also dating was kept a very strict secret between the two of them.. or it was until she finally broke down and cried to Flora about it.

Now, nine months later, she was ready to move on, especially since Lucy seemed to have already done so with a young Specialist from Geos. But she couldn't very well ask one of the other girls. Okay, she _had_ asked Flora (who she'd had a crush on since she was turned into a pumpkin last spring), but the Linphean girl politely explained that she didn't swing that way and wished Mirta the best of luck in her future romantic endeavors.

The problem lay in the fact that none of the Red Fountain boys turned her head, and so far none of the other fairies gave off that 'open' vibe.

"I guess I'll just have to stay alone, then." She sighed, walking up to her newly-reassigned dorm room. Apparently a few transfer students had arrived, and one of them was to be her new roommate. One Jean Grey of Earth, to be exact.

But Jean wasn't the only one in the room when Mirta walked in. A whole group of younger fairies (presumably also from Earth), looked up at her as she entered. There were five in all, most looking about the age of incoming freshmen. Jean, the oldest of the group, looked the same age of some Alfea Seniors, but, Mirta supposed, since she came from a realm where magic wasn't commonly taught, it was to be expected that she wouldn't grade as high as other fairies her age. She was quite fortunate to have enough control to be rated a Sophmore.

"Oh. I guess you must be Mirta." The red-head smiled nervously. "I'm Jean, and these are my friends Kitty, Amara, Jubilee, and Tabitha."

Mirta tuned her out after taking a second glance at Amara and Tabitha. Both of them gave off the vibes like Lucy used to, but Tabitha looked way too wild for her taste. Amara, though...Amara was her type. "Hi." She waved timidly, trying to look at the other girls in the room instead of_ just _those two.

* * *

Amara couldn't seem to take her eyes off of Mirta when the petite redhead entered the room. Something about the punk fairy called to her, despite her best attempts to resist.

It was quite shameful to feel this way (or so her parents told her), but she just could not help herself. Hell, she'd had a crush on Jean for the last year and a half (though the older mutant didn't seem aware of it). But unlike her friend Tabitha, who was very open about her preferences, Amara kept it a secret. She was worried about what people might _say_ if she came out. So she kept quiet and pretended to be interested in the plethora of young males at and around the mansion instead.

At least, until now.

Well, didn't these Americans say College was the time to experiment? To find yourself? Maybe she should take advantage of this time in Magix to finally come out of her little closet instead of locking herself in it for good?

"Hey, why don't we all go into Magix together?" Tabby suddenly asked, looking around at the other girls and drawing Amara's attention away from her own thoughts. "It'll be better than going there blind. Mirta here can show us around!" The brunette looked up at the petite redhead, wondering if she would actually accept the offer. Most people back home would run screaming if Tabby suggested they go into town (usually because said outings resulted in property damage).

Mirta blushed, the pink color effectively hiding the freckles on her pale cheeks. It was a cute look for the redhead, Amara thought. "Well, I guess it wouldn't be so bad."

"That's the spirit!" Tabby pumped her fist in the air and hopped to her feet. "Grab your bags, ladies, we're going on the town tonight!"

* * *

Despite the initial awkwardness of being the odd fairy out, Mirta found that she actually got along well with the five Earthlings. Their mermaid-out-of-water experience reminded her much of her own experience at Alfea back in the fall. Anything she could do to mentor these girls could only help her karma….and put her in closer proximity to Amara.

"You know, Mirta, you're not quite what I expected the other fairies to be like." Amara said as the group walked back to the transport station after dinner. Jean and Kitty were chatting happily at the front of the group, Jubilee and Tabitha seemed to be plotting something (from the sound of things, an boxer-short safari) pertaining to the Red Fountain boys, leaving the Nova Roman princess and the witch-turned-fairy alone to chat. "I figured they'd be more like…" her eyes drifted to Kitty.

"Well, most of them _are_ more like her." Mirta replied with a smile. "But not all. Flora and Eleanor are more sedate and quiet, while Layla and Musa are more athletic and less frilly."

"Ah." The brunette said, nodding in agreement yet not quite understanding. "You'll have to introduce me sometime."

"Of course." The teal-eyed girl smiled. "I'm sure they'd love to meet you all." She wanted to keep the conversation as friendly as possible right now. No sense in being to forward about things and scaring the girl off.

"I…I really had a good time." Amara said, brown eyes focusing intently on her sneakers. "Maybe we could, you know, do this again sometime?" She looked up hopefully at Mirta

"I would like that." Mirta nodded, feeling almost certain that this 'again' would be another group setting. "I can ask Flora to tag along, and then…"

"Um, well," The brunette stuttered, "I, um, was sort of hoping that we could, you know, just make it the two of us?" Her cheeks turned a bright pink color as she looked into the other fairy's eyes. Maybe it was all those years spent hanging with Tabitha, but for once she decided to go for what she wanted, consequences be damned. She'd wanted to ask Jean (or have Jean ask her…she'd been too shy to make any moves), but realized early on that the redheaded telepath was straighter than an arrow and contented herself to stealing longing glances at the older mutant.

Mirta's turquoise eyes lit up. "Oh!" She said, a smile creeping onto her face. "I would love to!" Apparently the girl was bolder than she gave her credit for being. Which was good. She wanted someone who was a little assertive… but not rude. Rude was a bad thing.

"Great." Amara smiled warmly, now feeling much more confident. She hadn't been rejected! That was a huge step in the right direction! "So, I guess that makes it a date?"

"Yeah. It does." The freckled fairy said as Tabitha looked back to listen to what was going on in their conversation.

The blond was happy for her friend-really, she was-but also a little hurt. She hadn't said much about it, but she did have feelings for the younger mutant. She helped the younger girl realize just what it meant to have the…urges she had been feeling and stood by her when the other girl needed help. That incident on the cruise came to the front of her mind. She couldn't remember ever being so _worried_ about anyone else in her life. For a little bit, she hadn't been sure Amara would make it to shore...and the whole 'swan-diving-into-volcano' stunt scared the shit out of her. Before the boarded the ship again, the blond had given her friend a jar of dirt (to help with sea-sickness induced by being away from land) and a stern lecture about giving people a warning before pulling dangerous stunts like that.

Which is why it left her feeling sad when the princess asked the redhead out instead of her.

But it wasn't her place to get upset, right? She'd never made any open advances toward Amara, and obviously the princess didn't feel that way about her, so all that was left to do was be happy for her friend. She could do that. No problem.

…So why did she feel like someone was sticking straight pins into her heart?


	8. 7 Take It or Leave It

**Sorry for temporarily abandoning this re-write. Real-life things like university and apartment hunting took over my life, and my muses decided to pursue other stories for a while. **

**As a reminder, I do not own any of the characters or locations presented in this story, nor do I make any profit from posting this online. **

**A Brave New World**

**7. Take It or Leave It**

Wanda Maximoff was less than pleased about having to share a room with a complete stranger. However, since she tested at the second year level and the other two Bayville witches were barely strong enough to make it as freshmen, she was forced to move into the second year dorms. She wouldn't have needed to in the first place had there not been a vacant space in one of the dorms after one of its former occupants switched schools.

She hoped to whatever deity was listening that her new roommate smelled better than Toad.

"This will be your new suite unless there is sufficient reason for you to be moved out of it." Headmistress Griffin remarked, opening one of the doors in a rather long and door-filled hallway. The black-haired mutant doubted she could find her way back to the dining hall without help, but her pride forbid her from mentioning that to the green-skinned witch standing before her. "There are usually four witches to a suite in the first and second year dorms, as they usually do not form strong coven ties until the end of their second year. If three or more witches do form a working coven, they will be given a room to themselves."

"I work alone." Wanda frowned, folding her arms across her chest. All those years in an asylum (which her **_dear_** father tried to wipe from her mind, Todd finally admitted) made her leery of working with other people, especially strangers. And relatives.

"Perhaps for now, but most witches are much stronger when working in a coven or circle." The headmistress led her into the living area of the suite. A couple of armchairs and bean-bag chairs flanked a couch in a semi-circle, allowing for a good view of the television. Like every other room in the castle, the walls were a dreary gray-violet and the floor was composed of sleek black tile. "You will be sharing a room with a girl named Lucy of Illusis; she returned to campus this morning." Miss Griffin walked up to one of the two side doors leading out of the room and knocked twice. A faint call of 'It's open' sounded from inside the room, and the older witch opened the door.

The room on the other side of the door was large enough for two people to share without feeling claustrophobic, having two work desks, wardrobes, and twin-sized beds. One half of the room was obviously claimed and decorated in shades of dark teal and garnet red, and flashes of black or white thrown in for the hell of it. A tall, lanky girl about Wanda's age stood next to an open wardrobe, levitating her clothing out of a suitcase and onto hangers before sending them into the wardrobe. She had a barely-tamed mane of green hair that flopped down over her eyes and clothing that matched the decorating scheme. "Can I help you with something, Miss Griffin?" Lucy's voice was deep and had a slight hoarse tone.

"Yes, you can." The headmistress replied, gesturing to Wanda. "This is Wanda, a new second-year transfer student. She needs a bed and you have an empty one."

Lucy frowned, studying Wanda carefully. Wanda returned the favor, deep blue eyes raking over Lucy's thin frame. The other witch, much like the headmistress, wasn't a classic beauty by any means. She had a thin face, long, angular nose, and pale blue-grey eyes. Not the look of your standard supermodel, but still far from the Scarlet Witch's definition of 'ugly'. She'd look a lot prettier if she did something different with her hair... but she wasn't Kitty Pryde, so the skinny witch was safe from a forced make-over.

After a moment's evaluation, the thinner witch shrugged. "Guess that's okay. Just keep your stuff on your side of the room." She waved a boney hand toward the unoccupied half of the dorm room as she returned to her unpacking.

Wanda rolled her eyes, carrying her one suitcase to the vacant bed. It wasn't as if she had a lot of stuff to spread around in the first place. She owned exactly three pairs of pants, a handful of shirts, a trench coat, two pairs of shoes, and her training uniform in addition to enough socks and underwear to last a whole week. By the time she had turned back around, Miss Griffin had departed from the room. With an indifferent shrug, the probability-manipulator opened her suitcase and began to manually unpack.

"You're not using magic for that?" Lucy asked.

"Don't have enough clothes to justify using magic for it." Wanda remarked bluntly. Well, that and her powers tended to make general magic spells act weird. "Just because you can use magic for something doesn't mean you should." Agatha and Mystique both drilled that mantra into her head once she moved into the Brotherhood house.

Lucy simply shrugged. "Makes sense, I guess. You come from a low-level magical planet? They're usually the only ones who teach stuff like that."

"I think Earth has such a low level it's mistaken for magically extinct, but yes." The short haired teen rolled her blue eyes as she placed one of her shirts on a hanger. "You come from one where it's more common?"

"Eh. Illusis is a moderate-level planet. Not powerful enough to attract evil people wanting to steal the magic powering it, but strong enough that there's a fair showing of natives at every magic school in the known realms." The lanky girl finished putting away the last of her clothes before flopping onto her bed. "You home taught? Wait, ignore that. You would **have** to have been home taught to be put into the second year classes. What kind of source do you have? I deal in light, personally."

"So, blinding people. That's a handy skill." Wanda was starting to like this girl. "I deal in probabilities. Not in the boring good luck/bad luck kind of way, but more of the 'raise the probability of that set of curtains spontaneously combusting' way."

"Bet you'd be wicked fun at parties."

"Don't like people enough to go to parties."

"Fair enough; people can be stupid and overly happy. And I imagine you would cause an exorbitant amount of property damage while drunk, so no parties for you." Lucy was smiling now, something that Wanda suspected was unusual for the other girl.

"Not to mention that Mystique would find a way to make my life hell if she caught me trying to sneak back into school while drunk." It was a very real possibility; the blue woman certainly knew how to do it. Lucy cocked an eyebrow.

"Who's Mystique? Your pet cat?"

"More like my warden-slash-boss-slash-teacher." Wanda explained. "She's teaching transfigurations here this semester, I think… maybe it was another class? Didn't pay that much attention when Griffin made that announcement."

"She any good at transfiguring things?" Lucy frowned. "That's a difficult subject to master."

"Not when you're a natural shape-shifter." Wanda shrugged. "Fair warning, don't piss her off; you may not live long enough to regret it."

"I thought only leprechauns could shape-shift." The green-haired teen spoke, voice soft and uncertain. It sounded as if some fundamental 'fact' of magic had just been upended, and for all Wanda knew about this dimension and its inhabitants, that might well be the case.

"She's a mutant: a human born with an extra gene that lets them do cool stuff. I'm one too; it's why it took two years for anyone to realize I had _real_ magic. Apparently, magic is related to a mutant's powers, and mutant powers will mask low-level magic from magic scanners." Or, that was how it had been explained to her, anyway. "The two girls who transferred with me—they're freshmen-level at best—are examples of it in their own way. Rogue is a mutant herself, and her magic is so untested that she doesn't know her source yet. Amanda's a standard witch, but she escaped detection last fall due to the fact that she was hanging out with us mutants."

"So mutant powers scramble magic detection spells?" A thoughtful expression crossed Lucy's face. "That could be very useful, since no one has figured a way around that yet."

Rolling her eyes, Wanda finished putting the last of her clothing into the dresser. Much as she despised trips to the shopping mall, she knew she would probably need to make a trip there on her own in the next few weeks. It was the preferred option to doing laundry twice a week. She could either call the X-Fairies or ask Rogue and Amanda for help. Rogue was definitely the less gag-worthy of the two; she decided to go with that one. It would also be a good idea to get the trip out of the way today, before everyone else returned to the campus. With a resigned groan, she turned around and began walking toward the door to their room.

"Where do you think you're going?" Lucy demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

"To talk Rogue and Amanda into taking me shopping clothes shopping." Wanda waved casually over her shoulder. She thought she'd satisfied her roommate's curiosity, but Lucy managed to catch up to her at the outer door.

"Do you even know where to go?"

"I'm sure we can handle it on our own." The raven haired teen remarked. "You aren't _obligated_ to show me around town or anything. We can take care of ourselves."

A small frown formed on Lucy's face, thin green eyebrows knitting together in contemplation. "It's not obligation…consider it my one good deed for the rest of the semester." She spoke in a soft, unsure tone. Her gaze then hardened into a more determined stare, centering on the red-clad woman in front of her. "Let me at least show you where all the good second hand stores are."

Wanda highly doubted that Mystique would have taken the three of them to a thrift store, but since none of them had any sizable amount of spending money it was the most economically sound option. "Fine. Let's get going." Not that she was ungrateful—she truly appreciated the help—, but Wanda had a reputation to uphold. Couldn't have anyone at this place thinking she was _soft_, after all. She was the Scarlet Witch, mutant master of probabilities and a woman who most certainly did not need anyone's help with clothes shopping (no matter what the X-Fairies seemed to think!).

* * *

Despite herself, Lucy enjoyed the afternoon shopping excursion. Rogue and Wanda had the potential to become the most feared women on campus. In fact, Wanda would probably cement her reputation once classes began and the Destructa coven decided to pick a fight with her. The three seniors could counter a ton of spells, but not having their own powers turned against them. And Rogue…Dragon, that girl had potential! The other students might not realize it (and it seemed that the witch's former house-mates had not), but Lucy wasn't that dense. The teachers certainly wouldn't be either.

As for Amanda…she hadn't decided whether she was worthy of "friend" status, but the other girl seemed okay. She wasn't by any means a "typical' Cloud Tower student, but unlike Mirta, the dark-skinned teen had no problem playing dirty when necessary. And she was dating a "demon", which was sure to earn her a lot of street cred around the campus.

The four witches had stopped for a snack at Sweet Dreams, a frozen yogurt parlor in Magix City. Though the decorations were just a little too bright for Lucy's taste, the yogurt was excellent and the servers didn't look down their noses at anyone who wasn't a fairy or specialist. They had been enjoying their yogurt bowls out on the patio (it was nice weather out) when a group of fairies walked up the sidewalk, obviously intent on going into the parlor. They stopped and sneered when they noticed the four witches.

"And just what do you think _you_'re doing here?" A girl with bright orange hair accused. She wore a white screen-printed shirt, yellow and blue jacket, pale Capri pants, and blue boots. Lucy didn't recognize her, but figured she must be in their grade level.

"Sacrificing small children to Satan; what does it _look_ like we're doing here?" The stripe-haired witch gestured to the half-eaten bowls of frozen yogurt on the patio table.

"What's a Satan?" A dark-haired fairy in green whispered to the others. Lucy immediately recognized her as Lolina, her former competition in the Miss Magix competition.

"I can't believe the owner let you in here." A girl with wavy chestnut hair and brown eyes sneered. Nessa, Fairy of felines, was another familiar face to Lucy. She was notoriously mean and, well, catty. Would have made a decent witch with that attitude, in fact.

"And why not?" Amanda challenged, indignation sparking in her chocolate-colored eyes. "We're paying customers and we weren't causing any trouble. Why _shouldn't_ we be allowed to eat here?" A faint multicolored glow began to surround the dark-skinned witch.

Lucy noticed Lolina flinch, the electricity fairy obviously uncomfortable with Amanda's accusation. Loni might play the popularity game very well, but she didn't honestly hate witches the way some other fairies (like Nessa) did. The former pageant contestant inched away from her more aggressive classmates.

"You witches are nothing but trouble!" Nessa hissed (yep, definitely the catty fairy). "I bet you spent all day harassing poor innocent people!"

"We spent our day unpacking an' buying new used clothes from thrift stores and discount outlets." Rogue narrowed her green eyes at the younger woman. Though worried about what might happen in the aftermath of a fight, Lucy felt perfectly confident in Rogue's ability to hand Nessa's furry little tail right back to her. Rogue didn't _need_ magic to be dangerous. "So take your bigoted bologna an' shove it in someone else's faces."

"Bigoted!" Nessa snarled, the pupils of her eyes narrowing to feline slits. The redhead next to her shot the feline fairy a wary glance.

"I—I think I'll just go get my frozen yogurt and eat inside." Lolina spoke up, nervously staring at her angry classmate before power-walking to the door.

"Yeah, that sounds good." The redhead nodded. "Come on, let's go." She grabbed the tanned fairy's arm in an attempt to lead her away, but Nessa was having none of it. Claw-like fingernails swiped at the other fairy.

"Go way!?" She growled, wheeling on the other girl. "Nova, how can you be so cowardly? They need to pay for insulting me!"

"Nessa, the only one who will be paying for this is us once Faragonda finds out you started _another_ fight in downtown Magix City!" Nova folded her arms across her chest, staring defiantly at her classmate. "There is no way in Shadowhaunt you can take on four witches by yourself!"

"I won't be by myself! You two will help me!"

"Why should they?" Lucy spoke up, drawing the fairies' attention. "You treat them ogre shit. Even the Trix treated each other better than you treat your 'friends'." Then again, that was typical coven mentality. You protected those in your coven and shunned everyone else. Unless that coven was the Hex coven; those four girls seemed to be open and even _friendly_ to most of the other girls their age. Friendliness like that was out of place in the cutthroat environment of Cloud Tower.

"Stay out of this, you freaks!"

"Oooh, 'freak'. I'm shaking in my boots." Rogue even added jazz hands at the end of that statement, causing Wanda to nearly choke on her mouthful of yogurt. The stripe-haired witch casually whacked the dark-haired probability manipulator on the back in an attempt to help her out. A smirk crossed Lucy's face. These girls weren't bad…for Earthlings.

Nessa growled, glaring venomously at the four witches in front of her. Four witches who, quite frankly, ignored her in favor of finishing their desserts. There was no need to let their snacks melt any more than they already had, after all. A frustrated yowl sounded from the brunette fairy as she clenched her fists, arms straight at her sides. Muttering what Lucy was absolutely certain were varied obscenities under her breath, Nessa stalked into the parlor and, mercifully, away from them.

"Wasn't she just a ball of sunshine?" Rogue made a face. "Are all fairies like that?"

"No." Lucy shook her head. They couldn't all be like that if Mirta was willing to stay at that school. And that Amaryl girl she dragged along for their last night out seemed pretty okay. "There are three sides to this: Fairies who think all witches are criminals, the witches who think all Fairies are weak and need to become their slaves, and the neutral crowd who believes that most of us can all be friends."

"Sounds just like home." Wanda sneered. Lucy said nothing, but mentally catalogued that information away for later use. She would research Earth's magic—and mutants—on her own later. At the very least it would give her an edge on most of her classmates in magical history.

"Uhg. That brat made me lose my appetite." Amanda complained, shoving her not-quite-empty bowl toward the center of the table.

"Or maybe ya just put too much in to start with?" Rogue rolled her eyes. "Kurt startin' ta wear off on ya?"

"Maybe." The dark-eyed woman sighed. Shaking her head, Lucy turned her attention back to her last few bites of cappuccino-flavored frozen yogurt. If nothing else, these three were certainly going to make school interesting this semester.


End file.
